When I look back on what has preoccupied me over the last 12 months, I will say that much of it has been spent "stepping back" and trying to look at the bigger picture. As online interactions have taken a bigger and bigger chunk of our lives, trying to understand how our actions play out against a broader online backdrop has been the thing I think about most often.

Two weeks ago, Google bought Clever Sense. Some are billing this as a response to Siri. Some see it as Google going after Yelp or Wolfram Alpha. And some have a hunch it's about Hunch, which I once called the iPhone of Search. I think the answer is none of the above -- but, in a way, all of the above. With Clever Sense, Google is trying to embody the original Ask Jeeves -- a butler-like digital assistant that knows who you are, what you want, when you want it, where you want it, and how you want it. In ...

For the local search and location-based services (LBS) industry, 2011 brought a great deal of innovation. The speed, availability and ubiquity of devices like tablets and smartphones, and the extreme growth of social media, have empowered users to quickly access and generate local content. While the vitality of the daily deal space is still up for debate, local group offers have significantly changed the way consumers connect with local businesses. In 2012, the deal market will continue to be refined as it has the potential to give SMBs new marketing power. So, with rapid innovation unlikely to wane, where is ...

Since this year marks the close of my eighth year in the search industry, I thought it would be neat to do a bit of professional reflection on this year compared to years past. Thinking back on everything that happened in our space in 2011 has been a fun exercise. I honestly can't recall any other year in that introduced as much change and controversy as this one.So in the spirit of the season, I'm handing out holiday gifts. I'm giving awards to my biggest search delights of the year -- and calling out one notable lump of coal. Too ...

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." This quote, from Leonardo da Vinci, was on the original brochure for the Apple II. Throughout his life, Steve Jobs didn't stray far from this principle. In fact, he was obnoxiously obsessive about it.

If you go to Google.com and type "let it snow" in the search box, you'll get a lovely little surprise: softly falling snow and an increasingly frosty window until all your search results are obscured. The frost is easily cleared by tapping the defrost button. Delightful!

Ever open the door to the fridge and then forget what you were looking for? Or ever head to your bedroom and then, upon entering it, forget why you went there in the first place? Me too. And it turns out we're not alone. New research from the University of Notre Dame's Gabriel Radvansky indicates this sudden "threshold" amnesia is actually pretty common.

The meme is officially meta! I've tracked the buzzwords at the past 11 Search Insider Summits -- but last week's event took things to a whole new level as the buzz itself became the buzz. Indeed, thanks to DataPop and Chacka Marketing, we had two, count 'em, two buzzword bingo games with prizes that had attendees buzzing. So how good a job did Frank "the tank" Lee and Janel "cheery" Laravie do at predicting the buzz? We'll see as I reveal the top 10 buzzwords from #mpsis last week in Deer Valley.

First let me start off by saying that this article is pure speculation on my part. I have no confirmation from Google regarding this direction for the future of its advertising platform. However, I do think that there are some strong signs that indicate the potential future and possibilities for Google ads.